DD Podhigai telecast an interview with Mr P M Nair retired IAS officer who was the secretary to Dr Kalam Sir when he was the President. I summarise the points he spoke in voice choked with emotion. Mr Nair had authored a book titled "Kalam Effect" .1. Dr Kalam used to receive costly gifts whenever he went as it is customary for many nations to give gifts to the visiting Head of state. Refusing the gift would become an insult to the nation and an embarrassment for India. So, he received them and on his return, Dr Kalam asked the gifts to be photographed and then catalogued and handed over to the archives. Afterwards, he never even looked at them. He did not take even a pencil from the gifts received when he left Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
2. In 2002, the year Dr Kalam took over, the Ramadan month came in July-August. it was a regular practice for the President to host an iftar party. Dr Kalam asked Mr Nair why he should host a party to people who are already well fed and asked him to find out how much would be the cost. Mr Nair told it costs around Rs. 22 lakhs. Dr Kalam asked him to donate that amount to a few selected orphanages in the form of food, dresses and blankets. The selection of orphanages was left to a team in Rashtrapathi Bhavan and Dr Kalam had no role in it. After the selection was made, Dr Kalam asked Mr Nair to come inside his room and gave him a cheque for Rs 1 lakh. He said that he is giving some amount from his personal savings and this should not be informed to anyone. Mr Nair was so shocked that he said "sir, I will go outside and tell everyone . People should know that here is a man who not only donated what he should have spent but he is giving his own money also". Dr Kalam though he was a devout Muslim did not have Iftar parties in the years in which he was the President.
3. Dr Kalam did not like "yes sir" type of people. Once when the Chief Justice of India had come and on some point Dr Kalam expressed his view and asked Mr Nair, "Do you agree?"/ Mr Nair said "No sir, i do not agree with you". The Chief Justice was shocked and could not believe his ears. It was impossible for a civil servant to disagree with the president and that too so openly. Mr Nair told him that the President would question him afterwards why he disagreed and if the reason was logical 99% he would change his mind.
4. Dr Kalam invited 50 of his relatives to come to Delhi and they all stayed in Rashtrapathi Bhavan. He organised a bus for them to go around the city which was paid for by him. No official car was used. All their stay and food was calculated as per the instructions of Dr Kalam and the bill came to Rs 2 lakhs which he paid. In the history of this country no one has done it. Now, wait for the climax, Dr Kalam's elder brother stayed with him in his room for the entire one week as Dr Kalam wanted his brother to stay with him. When they left, Dr Kalam wanted to pay rent for that room also. Imagine a President of country paying rent for the room in which he is staying. This was any way not agreed by the staff who thought the honesty was getting too much to handle !!!.
5. When Kalam sir was to leave Rashtrapathi Bhavan at the end of the tenure, every staff member went and met him and paid their respects. Mr Nair went to him alone as his wife had fractured her leg and was bed ridden. Dr Kalam asked why his wife did not come. He replied that she was in bed due to an accident. next day, Nair saw lot of police men around his house and asked what had happened. They said that the President of India was coming to visit him in his house. He came and met his wife and chatted for some time. Mr Nair says that no president of any country would visit a civil servant's house and that too on such a simple pretext.
I thought I should give the details as many of you may not have seen the telecast and so it may be useful.
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Wish at least a substantial number of SA leaders had led simple and honest life like him. Unfortunately that's not so.

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Late Dr APJ.ABDUL KALAM was a simple,straight and humble man... The great man died giving lecture to students in Shilling... He is the inspiration of the new generation Indians... There was a incident [ I read in some other thread here] where security man was standing on the vehicle in front of his motorcade.. Dr Kalam asked the security man to sit down and not stand for long period during the long journey... The security man replied that he is ready to stand for him for all day long...

Late Dr APJ.ABDUL KALAM was a simple,straight and humble man... The great man died giving lecture to students in Shilling... He is the inspiration of the new generation Indians... There was a incident [ I read in some other thread here] where security man was standing on the vehicle in front of his motorcade.. Dr Kalam asked the security man to sit down and not stand for long period during the long journey... The security man replied that he is ready to stand for him for all day long...

If you get chance read more of Dr Kalam... incredible man !!

SA leaders & politicians are nothing but sharks out for blood ...

Can you check the thread heading ? the name is wrong it seems...

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Could Mods kindly correct the name in the title? I don't know how to. Thanks.

If you salute your duty, you need not salute anybody. But if you pollute your duty, you have to salute everybody.

My message, especially to the young people, is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.

Thinking is progress. Non-thinking is stagnation of the individual, organisation and the country. Thinking leads to action. Knowledge without action is useless and irrelevant. Knowledge with action, converts adversity into prosperity.

Don't take rest after your first victory, because if you fall in the second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.

When our signature changes to autograph, that marks the success.

We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.

Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties know that you too are difficult.

Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.

Don't read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success.